Golf: Olapade Completes a Treble with CIO Victory in Port Harcourt

Nigeria’s Sunday Olapade won the 5th CIO Golf Championship at the Python Golf Club in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, with a brilliant score of 271, 17 under par on Sunday evening.

Olapade shot 65, 71, 69, and 66 on each of the CIO event’s day to top the leaderboard, which included eight other African countries that featured at the N45 million purse event.

“I am very happy and just want to thank all who made this happen, especially the organisers and the leadership of the CIO.”

The win at Python Golf Club sealed a 100 percent entry record for him in three tournaments. He had won the Ivory Coast Open and Ghana’s PGA Championship in succession, making him the first player to achieve a treble across West Africa in a stretch.

Ikenna Okafor, the CEO of Keves Global Leasing, which bankrolled the CIO Championship, said he was not surprised at Olapade’s feat, which only underscores how hard work and focused are essential tools for success.

“Olapade won the 2022 edition of the CIO Championship and watching him this year reveals the work he has invested into his game. I have some players I keep tabs on, and Olapade’s dedication sets him apart. I think he is a good example and he has thrown a challenge to the bulk of young talented field behind.”

Ikenna said the joy for him and any golf enthusiast is the quality of scores that made the leaderboard. 

“The players are returning great scores,” he added. 

Olapade’s winning score was five shots better than Wemba Sydney, the Zambian professional who returned a 66, six under par in the closing round to pick the runner-up spot.

The trio of Monday Eze (Nigeria), Mapwanya Visitor (Zimbabwe), and Michael Bulabula tied for third place returning an aggregate 280, eight under par for the event.

The championship featured 140 professional golfers and included 240 amateur players from different parts of Nigeria and Africa.

Director of the Professional Golfers’ Association of Nigeria, Tony Philmoore said that the CIO event is the biggest golf event on the Nigerian Tour in a long while and it attests to the growth that is being experienced in the game in Nigeria.

“This is the growth we have worked and laboured for and we are happy that the right partnerships are birthing landmark events like this. We are very grateful to all that made this happen,” he concluded.